Getting Started
This is a basic overview on what you should know when starting out in Skyforge. While mechanics are taught in-game, it never hurts to have a reference or a head start. This quick guide will cover everything from moving your character to talking with your friends. Since the game is still in Beta, this information is subject to change and should be updated as necessary. We hope you find this information helpful. Creating Your Character When you first log into the game, you will have a male 'templar' as a character. This is not optional, but once you have completed the initial tutorial area, your character will have become an immortal and you will be given the opportunity to change your appearance. The character creator is very detailed and has several optional sliders for body weight, height, proportions, muscle size and facial features. You will also be able to choose an initial costume. Later on you will complete a tutorial from your screen that will allow you to change your costume at will. More costumes can be earned in-game. Movement The character is controlled by the familiar W,S,A,D but the camera is completely controlled by the mouse. If you are moving forward using 'W', turning your mouse will still turn your character. This also comes into play in the Combat Action system where your frontal attacks will damage anything in front of you up to the distance of the attack. Dash is a way to move out of harm quickly. The meter for this resource is to the right of your health bar and it is depleted with use. To use dash, either double tap a movement key in a specific direction, or press it once while holding down the shift key. Action Combat System At the center of your screen is a reticule, Players will need to line this up with their enemy for accuracy. This is not the only option for attacks however as Tab Targeting also works in Skyforge . Aim the reticule at your opponent (or select using Tab) and use your primary attacks by using your right and left mouse buttons. Melee characters are capable of performing combo attacks using pattern variation of both the mouse buttons similar to what you might be used to on a console controller and a fighting game. The attempts to use the combos with the ranged classes did not bode well with the developers and instead, those classes have mouse linked abilities with two modes, the first being a single mob attack with a single mouse click and the second firing off as a charged AOE attack if the mouse button is held for more than a second during the attack. Ranged classes are not required to be stationary during combat and can cast abilities while on the move. There are a few melee abilities that require the melee class to remain still while it is being cast. If you wish to kill a single target and not affect targets nearby, select the target with Tab or press the F key to lock onto that target. You will remain locked even if you move temporarily out of range. The Combat system features resources in the form of energy (or mana) that is displayed in a bar below your health bar. The actual name of this resource varies by class, ie: Cryogen for Cryomancers or Righteous Anger for Paladins. Powerful strikes reduce or deplete the resource while lighter strikes allow it to build back up over time. A way to build it up quickly up is by inflicting mortal damage to the enemy using a finishing ability. Once the character is out of combat, health will be restored at a quick rate. Mob Classes and Roles Mobs in Skyforge have specific roles and generally attack in groups in the open world. One of the enemies will rush to attack the character, another will support the attacker and a third will try to control the player's character using crowd control abilities. The role of the mob can be determined by an icon above their head. Three Triangles - The enemy has a powerful melee or ranged attack but has a small health pool and will most likely have a controller and support mob with it and be in range of nearby sets. Sword - This icon means the enemy is capable of inflicting serious damage through power attacks Shield - This mob has a higher amount of defense and is more difficult to kill. Triangle/Eye - This mob will be a bit of a challenge and may have crowd control abilites. Skull - This icon has a 'star' around it and is used primarily on bosses. This will be a very formidable opponent and the player will want to use extra caution and tactics. World Interaction To interact with objects and NPC's on Aelion, players will only need to use the Space Bar on the keyboard. The player will need to be in range of an item but can press the space bar once the context action becomes available. Your characters will begin conversing with the NPC or using the item. The player can also use the Space Bar for automatic movement in quest zones. Aim the reticule at the quest marker and press the Space Bar. This ability may be hindered if there is an obstacle in the way. Social To interact with other players, use the 'G' key to call up a menu of available items. You will need to point the reticule at the relevant player. Pressing Enter will open the Chat window. Use Control and Tab keys to select a chat channel. The Control key opens a list of available channels and the Tab key toggles recently used channels without calling up the list first. Players can also use the arrow keys. Chat is also available on the full screen menu. Using it on the full screen option allows you to add friends and invite them to your party. The Community Menu allows players to find other players by using their nicknames. This option is key-bound to 'Y' by default. Skyforge includes an integrated social network called Aelinet where players can socialize with each other similar to using the forums or other social networks and leave comments regarding events and missions. Region Quests As players travel through the game world, they will be presented with quests that will automatically enter themselves into the player's log and be present on the screen. Quests are clearly marked on the players map. When a player leaves an area, the quest will no longer show in the list of current quests but the progress is saved so that when the players returns to the area, the quest becomes visible again. Placing the mouse cursor over the quests show on the player's map will bring up a tooltip showing the name and objectives of the quest as well as the reward. Travel Large locations will have Uplink Terminals which act as teleport points as well as character resurrection sites. To be able to use an Uplink Terminal as a teleport site, the player will have needed to visit the Terminal at some point in their travels. This unlocks the Terminal and the player will be able to click on the terminal they wish to use and travel to that location after agreeing to a fee. Uplink Terminals also provide players access to the Divine Observatory. Once you have the map open, you will be able to view activities and locations. By clicking on the icon at the lower right hand side of the screen, players will be able to see a list of all available locations. Click on the location you wish to travel to and the character will be instantly transported. Mounts are also available in Skyforge. There is currently only one mount available through the market and players can receive mounts through missions, the Collector Edition and possibly later via cash shop purchases. Some mounts are permanent and some are temporary. The timer on the temporary ones is only reduced with when the mount is actually in use. The Mount available from the Market can be rented via credits - Renting it 10 times awards you a permanent version of the mount.. One suggestion is to make your first Argent purchase from in-game. Players will receive a one time gift that includes a permanent rhino mount. The lowest price option currently is $2.99 US. Stats and Equipment Equipment includes a main weapon, an additional weapon, two trophies, four amulets and four rings. Weapons are class specific and will automatically change out depending on the characters current class if the weapon has been equipped in that class. Most of your equipment stats will come from rings, weapons, amulets, trophies and other upgrades that increase various aspects of your character's basic and advanced stats. Weapons, amulets and rings are obtained through adventures and missions. Upgrades become available to players in one of the first locations. The information which stats it increases is displayed on each piece of equipment. All equipment is divided into five rarity types - from common to legendary- and can be identified by their different colors: white, green, blue, purple and orange. At higher qualities, rings possess more modifiers, while weapons get specific characteristics pertaining to the certain class talents. Selecting the right rings for your character is part of the process of creating a unique build since each ring can possess two advanced stat modifiers. When the player chooses what rings to equip, they can elect to collect rings with all four stats, or they can select two or three stats to divide among their rings. Rings can be improved as well, further increasing their effectiveness. Stats (more appropriately know as Attributes ) are what determines the power of your character. There are six primary stats and 12 lesser ones. More specific information can be found on the Attributes page. Your character’s Stats are primarily increased through the Ascension Atlas , your equipment, and by developing your Order, but some stats are related to specific classes. For example, a Berserker’s chain blade may have a new stat which augments how one of the Berserker’s abilities functions. In most cases though, these stats are common for all classes and remain unchanged when switching from one to another. Gearscore in Skyforge is determined by Prestige and depends on the equipment the character is using as well as their development level in the Ascension Atlas . It is also affected by how advanced the characters weapons are and by the amount of followers they have. Players will use this value as a comparison to one another. Prestige is also used by the game itself to gauge the power of the player, therefore it is used used in matchmaking, level-gating access to areas, the available difficulty levels of areas, and how hard a difficulty level should be for the player (easy, normal, impossible, etc) and thus the rewards for completing it. Note that it is common for players to unintentionally inflate their Prestige and end up with content that is very hard to progress through. If you find the overall difficulty of the game too high, consider actively managing your Prestige. Class Change Players who have unlocked classes for the character via the Ascension Atlas will be able to change their character to those classes any time they are out of combat and can do this from the full screen menu. Changing your class will also change your weapons and abilities. All of your other equipment will remain the same as will your stats and inventory and anything else not class specific. Each class will need to be unlocked individually as will the abilities within that class. When you start the game, your Ascension Atlas will have a clear linear path until you have played enough to be familiar with it. Then it will branch out in different directions, giving you choices on what to work on next. All basic combat abilities will be learned early in gameplay. Obtaining bonuses and unlocking other class paths will require the payment of Sparks . Each of the nodes will say which Spark is required and how many. The higher into the Atlas you go, the more Sparks you will need to obtain. Sparks can be obtained through mission and quest rewards as well as loot drops. (Note: This was seen as Gems in the RU version of the game. This article has since been updated) Abilities The number of abilities and skills that can be active on a character at any given time is limited. New ability slots become available as the character develops. They can also be gained through special quests as rewards. Changing these abilities out for other ones costs a small fee. For more class specific information, see Class . Adventures and Missions To develop your character, players will be required to complete adventures and quests, whether through PVE (Player vs Environment) or PVP (Player vs Player). Most quests can be completed solo but others were designed for groups. Quests and missions can be accessed from the global map in the Divine Observatory . Every 40 minutes the situation on Aelion is updated which can also alter the types of missions and rewards available. If the player has already started the mission, the quest reward for it will not change until after it has been completed. Group missions are meant to be completed by parties of 3 - 5 players. Players can either form their group ahead of time and enter or use the player selection system. Currency Different currencies are available in the game. Sparks are used to buy unlocks in the Ascension Atlas, Credits are used to purchase items in game, Argents are the in-game currency used to by items in the In-game Marketplace, and Enhancement Stones are used for ranking up weapons and rings. For more information, be sure to search the wikia using specific keywords. Feel free to use the forums or chat rooms to visit and ask questions of other players or ask in game. If you are unable to find a specific article in the wikia but come across an answer somewhere else, be sure to come back and share it with us! Creating article pages or expanding current ones is how the wikia grows and it helps bring in new editors. FAQ's These are quick answers to questions constantly seen asked in game. ' Is Skyforge Pay To Win ?' :Access to the immediate newest (and therefore most powerful equipment) is locked behind a paywall. However all else (including the newest items over time) will be available to get in-game. For the hardcore gamers, some consider it to be necessary to spend real money. However for casual gamers, it acts as a F2P. How do I unlock the Upper Atlas? ''' :Look on your class Ascension Atlas and follow it out till you see the "Path of the (current class here)". This is where you need to get to. It takes about 3-4 hours of steady gameplay doing missions and adventures to get there. '''When do I get a mount and how do I equip it? :If you have purchased the Wrath of the God's founders pack (no longer available) or the Warden of the Wastelands Collectors Edition, then you will have a mount that you can use once you have completed the first few beginning missions. The first temporary mount (3 hours, timer only runs when the mount is in use) becomes available in Naori Island as a reward. There is no vendor. To equip the mount, double click on it in your inventory. If you ECS from your main screen, the icons at the top left will include one for the mount (horse head). This will allow you to see your mount information. From your main game screen, hold down J to bring up the mount wheel and choose which mount to use for default. Use your mount by pressing J on the keyboard and again to dismount. What is the Cap I keep hearing about? :This is a currency cap. Hit ESC and go to the currency tab. Look for Limits. When these reach zero, you will no longer received them as rewards until the weekly reset, Tuesday night at 9pm PDT. (Players were told Wednesday 5am originally without explaining this was the European timezone for reset).The tips on the right side of the screen will tell you what you will receive instead. Caps include Credits , Sparks of Insight (green, red and blue), Class Sparks and Particles of Mastery . I hit the cap, what do I do now? :Did you hit ALL of the caps? Usually the first thing capped out is Sparks of Insight (red, blue, green) but it could take a bit longer to cap out your class sparks. These drop from mobs, bosses at a much higher amount, so go out and kill them! Particles of Mastery are rewarded from the completion of open zones and by completing Adventures with a high rating, by completing additional quests highlighted in blue. Other things to consider doing include farming items for Adept Enlightenment, (holy texts, medallions, emblems), farming Founder's Rings and Tablets to upgrade Temples and Chapels, farm Spark Replicators in open zones, farm rare items to trade for costumes. The cap may seem like a hindrance but it's better to look at it as a challenge. There are many ways to increase prestige besides using sparks. Figure out what works best for you. Maybe even give PVP a shot if that isn't normally your 'thing'. If I have cleared an open zone but no longer see it on my map, can I still go there? :Yes. Click on the tri-spark icon on the right side of your map and it will show all the zones that you can earn all three sparks in. This works with any icon on that sidebar. If you are capped, the items no longer available will be grayed out. Hovering over the quest areas colored on the map will show you what you will receive instead. Alternatively, use the search option in the lower right corner of the map and click on Regions. This will show you all regions on the map and whether or not they are available to you. How do I unlock a new class? :Here is where some users get confused. Purchasing a Founders or a CE does give you early access to specific classes, HOWEVER it does NOT unlock them in the Upper Ascension Atlas . Everyone starts at the beginning. Search the map for the class you want (will have the emblem of the class on the node), right click the node and select find path. It will show a blue line from a beginning class to the one you selected. This will be the shortest route. Do not make try to use a shortcut that seems faster; there's link nodes that are called Luck nodes that require a certain item that you won't be able to get till higher Prestige, causing to to hit a dead end. Divine Form requires a 30k+ Prestige item, so if you are debating on the class or Divine Form first, I highly suggest the class. Totally up to you. It is possible to get to an intermediate class within a week if you are careful and only spend Sparks of Insight on that specific path. Be aware however, that unlocking the class will not automatically provide you with the weapons for that class. If you don't already have weapon drops put aside already, farming Adventures should provide you with a weapon in a short amount of time. Some have suggested trying a PVP map specifically for weapon drops. Can I play with my friends? :Well yes and no. Form your party before selecting an adventure or open zone location to enter. Other party members will get an invite to wherever you choose to go. If it is a Squad , and there are only two of you, use the Solo option. If group, and there are less than 5, also choose Solo unless you want to be in the group finder queue. In that case choose Group. This does not apply to open zones as you will only have the 'join' option on those. :If there is a significant gap in prestige between you and your friend, your friend will need to choose the Adventure as they cannot go into yours. The other current issue with large prestige gaps is open zones. Players will need to group up once they are in the zone and not before, then most likely sync to the same map. For higher players who no longer see low level open zones on their map, click on the Sparks of Insight tri-colored icon on the right side of the map and this will show you all open zones available to you. This is a know issue and solutions are on their way including a possible mentoring type option. What does X2 or X3 mean on some areas mean? :This means you will earn rewards in relevance to that multiplier. Sometimes this will require that you complete the Adventure in a specific class. The system will change you to that class upon entering the Adventure and equip you with the proper weapons and abilities. So far this seems to work well in solo mode but there has been issues with it in groups. If you change to another class while in the Adventure, or leave it early, you will see a warning prior to making the choice final and you will not receive the bonus. When can I get followers? :The Orders of Aelion opens up at 2k Prestige. You will receive missions to talk various NPC's including the Master of Orders who will introduce you to the Hall of Greatness . Building your temples, chapels, raising the rank of your Order is important and requires the completion of specific missions and Adventures. You will learn to recruit Adepts and level them as well. How do I change out my abilites? :Look for the Reset option under your talents on the Abilities screen. Yes it does work for talents but it is also required to reset your abilities. Can be confusing since it sits right under Talents. Are there emotes in the game? :Yes though not very many it seems. Most players are used to using a forward-slash command to start an emote which is how it works in a majority of mmo's but in Skyforge, you will press G on the keyboard to open up the emote options, then use the relevant F key (F1, F2, etc) Category:Gameplay